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Teens accused of throwing brick from overpass in court

Adam Shane Herren, left, and Jordan Price, right, are both charged with first-degree assault. The 16-year-olds are accused of throwing the brick that caused serious injuries to Melissa Jones, who was driving with three of her children to the birth of her first grandchild at Northport DCH.

Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 3:45 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 3:45 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | One of two teenagers accused of seriously injuring a woman by throwing a brick from an interstate overpass implicated his friend in a videotaped statement to police, according to court testimony.

Adam Shane Herren and Jordan Price, both 16, are charged with first-degree assault. They are accused of throwing the brick that caused serious injuries to Melissa Jones, who was driving with three of her children to the birth of her first grandchild at Northport Medical Center.

Both teenagers were in court Tuesday afternoon for a preliminary hearing. The lead investigator in the case testified about evidence against the young men, including implicating witness statements, their own statements and Internet searches conducted from Price’s seized phone.

Jones, 40, was injured by a 5-pound brick dropped from the Keenes Mill Road overpass on the night of Sept. 16.

“She had a huge gash, probably 10 inches long, that was closed with 45 stitches or staples,” Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit Investigator Simon Miller testified in Tuscaloosa County District Court on Tuesday. “Her right lung was collapsed, she had a broken sternum and a broken right collarbone. It dislocated both shoulders, broke both jawbones and several teeth. She had several lacerations on her shoulder.”

Jones is recovering, but she still faces more surgeries.

Herren told officers that he and Price had been hanging out in a vacant lot near their homes that Sunday afternoon when Price picked up a brick and mentioned that it would spark if dropped on the interstate, Miller said. He read a summary of the videotaped interview, which was not shown at the hearing.

They dropped a brick from the overpass, which didn’t hit a vehicle and did cause sparks, Miller said. Herren said he felt that Price was planning to aim for a vehicle, so he left the bridge, Miller read. Herren told officers that he heard a crash before the two ran to their car. He said that Price was laughing because he had struck a vehicle, the investigator testified.

Price told investigators in a statement videotaped the same night that the two were not responsible. According to Price’s statement, they had been at his house on Keenes Mill Road before visiting a friend in Vance for a few minutes and returned back to his home a minute later than his 9 p.m. curfew. Price told officers that he had not been on the bridge in years, Miller said.

Homicide investigators confiscated Price’s phone and found that someone had conducted Internet searches including “Are lie detectors accurate?” and “How long is a prison sentence for attempted murder?” Someone searched for a newspaper story about the incident and emailed it to one of Price’s friends, Miller said. There were text messages on the phone to Price’s friends denying that he committed the crime and stating that he was being framed.

Police found footprints in the sandy mud on the bridge that they believe matched the size and tread of Price’s sneakers. Price voluntarily gave investigators the shoes when they came to his home later that night.

“He was a little uncooperative. He didn’t want to answer questions fully. He gave short answers to questions like, ‘Were you on the bridge tonight?’ ” Miller said.

Investigators first visited the teens’ homes at the suggestion of Coaling police officers, who had contact with the teens in the past, Miller said.

The investigators spoke to another witness who had seen the teenagers walking on the bridge at about 5 p.m. that day. They spoke to a coal miner who said someone in a red car threw something from their car and hit his windshield that afternoon. They spoke to a truck driver whose truck was hit by a cinderblock dropped from the overpass minutes before Jones’ vehicle was hit and to the truck driver who came to Jones’ aid.

Frederick Golden told officers that he thought Jones must be having a heart attack or other medical emergency when he saw her SUV weaving between lanes. He drove in both lanes to keep other traffic at a distance until her 14-year-old son pulled the vehicle to the side of the interstate. Golden called 911 and helped calm Jones’ sons, 14, 8 and 5, until police arrived.

“I was just a fellow human being helping a person in need,” Golden said in the police statement that Miller read in court.

District Judge Jim Guin found probable cause to continue prosecution of Herren and Price.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | One of two teenagers accused of seriously injuring a woman by throwing a brick from an interstate overpass implicated his friend in a videotaped statement to police, according to court testimony.</p><p>Adam Shane Herren and Jordan Price, both 16, are charged with first-degree assault. They are accused of throwing the brick that caused serious injuries to Melissa Jones, who was driving with three of her children to the birth of her first grandchild at Northport Medical Center.</p><p>Both teenagers were in court Tuesday afternoon for a preliminary hearing. The lead investigator in the case testified about evidence against the young men, including implicating witness statements, their own statements and Internet searches conducted from Price's seized phone.</p><p>Jones, 40, was injured by a 5-pound brick dropped from the Keenes Mill Road overpass on the night of Sept. 16. </p><p>“She had a huge gash, probably 10 inches long, that was closed with 45 stitches or staples,” Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit Investigator Simon Miller testified in Tuscaloosa County District Court on Tuesday. “Her right lung was collapsed, she had a broken sternum and a broken right collarbone. It dislocated both shoulders, broke both jawbones and several teeth. She had several lacerations on her shoulder.”</p><p>Jones is recovering, but she still faces more surgeries.</p><p>Herren told officers that he and Price had been hanging out in a vacant lot near their homes that Sunday afternoon when Price picked up a brick and mentioned that it would spark if dropped on the interstate, Miller said. He read a summary of the videotaped interview, which was not shown at the hearing.</p><p>They dropped a brick from the overpass, which didn't hit a vehicle and did cause sparks, Miller said. Herren said he felt that Price was planning to aim for a vehicle, so he left the bridge, Miller read. Herren told officers that he heard a crash before the two ran to their car. He said that Price was laughing because he had struck a vehicle, the investigator testified. </p><p>Price told investigators in a statement videotaped the same night that the two were not responsible. According to Price's statement, they had been at his house on Keenes Mill Road before visiting a friend in Vance for a few minutes and returned back to his home a minute later than his 9 p.m. curfew. Price told officers that he had not been on the bridge in years, Miller said.</p><p>Homicide investigators confiscated Price's phone and found that someone had conducted Internet searches including “Are lie detectors accurate?” and “How long is a prison sentence for attempted murder?” Someone searched for a newspaper story about the incident and emailed it to one of Price's friends, Miller said. There were text messages on the phone to Price's friends denying that he committed the crime and stating that he was being framed.</p><p>Police found footprints in the sandy mud on the bridge that they believe matched the size and tread of Price's sneakers. Price voluntarily gave investigators the shoes when they came to his home later that night. </p><p>“He was a little uncooperative. He didn't want to answer questions fully. He gave short answers to questions like, 'Were you on the bridge tonight?' ” Miller said.</p><p>Investigators first visited the teens' homes at the suggestion of Coaling police officers, who had contact with the teens in the past, Miller said. </p><p>The investigators spoke to another witness who had seen the teenagers walking on the bridge at about 5 p.m. that day. They spoke to a coal miner who said someone in a red car threw something from their car and hit his windshield that afternoon. They spoke to a truck driver whose truck was hit by a cinderblock dropped from the overpass minutes before Jones' vehicle was hit and to the truck driver who came to Jones' aid. </p><p>Frederick Golden told officers that he thought Jones must be having a heart attack or other medical emergency when he saw her SUV weaving between lanes. He drove in both lanes to keep other traffic at a distance until her 14-year-old son pulled the vehicle to the side of the interstate. Golden called 911 and helped calm Jones' sons, 14, 8 and 5, until police arrived.</p><p>“I was just a fellow human being helping a person in need,” Golden said in the police statement that Miller read in court. </p><p>District Judge Jim Guin found probable cause to continue prosecution of Herren and Price. </p><p>Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0210.</p>